Taking the fight against HIV/AIDS into Islamic schools in East Java, Indonesia

HIV/AIDS peer educators taking a break with their teachers at Zainul Hasan Islamic school in East Java.

By Steve Nettleton

PROBOLINGGO, Indonesia, 28 August 2006 - A call to prayer, instead of a school bell, signals the end of the morning session of classes at ZainulHasan Islamic school in East Java.

Young boys put down their books, put on their white prayer caps and file into the mosque, while girls in blue headscarves take a break in the courtyard, chatting under the shadow of a minaret.

It appears a typical scene for one of Indonesia's 5,000 Islamic boarding schools, known as 'pesantren', a large concentration of which are found in East Java.

This year, however, a subject seeming anything but typical has appeared in the classroom at ZainulHasan, a subject that would have once been considered taboo: HIV/AIDS.

Open discussion

Alongside discussions of the Koran, students are starting to talk openly about sex, drug use and HIV. It is part of the Islamic Leadership Initiative, a regional effort to teach students in Islamic schools how to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.

A recent surge in HIV/AIDS cases has vaulted East Java from the sixth to the third most affected province in Indonesia, in only one year. This escalation has alarmed community and religious leaders, who are starting to see HIV/AIDS education as a lifesaving course of study.

"One cause of HIV infection is carefree sex and prostitution, which are spreading widely and uncontrolled," said KH Mohammad HasanMutawakkilAlallah, the 'kyai', or religious leader, of ZainulHasan. "By knowing the bad effects of those negative attitudes, our students, besides identifying the religious threat, can also identify the deadly impact on health."

A group of peer educators meet outside their classroom at Zainul Hasan Islamic School.

Empowering students and teachers

UNICEF began its approach at the national level, working with Indonesia's Council of Ulama, a group of senior Muslim scholars that deliberates on the nation's Islamic law.

"We explained the importance of preventing HIV/AIDS among young people," said the head of UNICEF's Fighting AIDS Unit in Indonesia, Rachel Odede. "Looking at the Islamic values of life, we were able to come up with a strategy to ensure that [preventing] HIV/AIDS could be taken into schools."

That strategy involves giving 60 teachers from 20 Islamic schools in East Java special training about HIV/AIDS. In addition, 60 students from each school are trained to serve as 'peer educators' who share their knowledge through classroom discussions and one-on-one talks with friends.

One of them, 16-year-old HikmatulKamiliah, a junior at ZainulHasan, says her information is in great demand.

"After I got home from the training, my parents also asked me about HIV/AIDS," she said. "So, I explained it to them. In the school dormitory, I talk about this disease to my friends in our room."

By bringing HIV/AIDS education into Islamic schools, communities in East Java are using a new asset to fight a growing menace that shows no mercy for young people, regardless of their religion or faith.